-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Miles away from the somber ceremony on a tarmac where coffins containing the remains of victims of Flight MH17 were returned , dozens of forensic scientists at a military base in the Netherlands were preparing for the grim task of identifying the remains .

In all , 298 passengers and crew -- among them dozens of children -- were killed when the packed Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 they were on crashed in eastern Ukraine last Thursday .

All of the bodies and body parts recovered from the crash site will eventually be brought to Hilversum , Netherlands , where a team of experts from the Dutch national forensics unit -LRB- Landelijk Team Forensische Opsporing -RRB- will do everything they can to return the dead to their loved ones .

`` You do n't know which nationality each body is , '' explains Jos van Roo of LTFO . `` So we try to identify all the bodies . We are in contact with the other countries to combine efforts to identify the bodies . ''

The LTFO has experience of other mass disasters , having worked on the 2004 Asian tsunami , the crash of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 in Libya in 2010 and other incidents in the Netherlands .

Van Roo says great care has and will continue to be taken over the bodies , out of respect for the victims and to avoid any further distress to their families .

Forensics specialist : ` It must be very precise '

It is painstaking work , van Roo says : `` There are lot of bodies and body parts coming our way . -LSB- Everything -RSB- must be examined . ... It must be very precise . You must make sure you do n't give the wrong body to the wrong family . ''

The team 's work began days ago on the Ukrainian field near the Russian border where MH17 's journey from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur came to a premature end .

Forensic genetics expert Denise Syndercombe-Court of King 's College London says some identifications will be relatively simple .

`` It sounds as if they have perhaps 200 body bags with identifiable bodies or parts of bodies in , '' she says . `` And while they have been at the site for some time , I would expect that it will be possible to get good DNA profiles from most of those . ''

In some cases , working out who is who may be even easier than that -- if a victim has a distinctive scar or clothing , or even a wallet or passport in a pocket .

Dental records can also be used to identify those who are not immediately recognizable .

If DNA is needed , it is usually taken from an area of deep muscle . Mitochondrial DNA may also be used . In both cases , the experts will then need to compare the DNA taken from the victim with a relative .

Search for DNA matches

But Syndercombe-Court says the fact so many families died on Flight MH17 may complicate the process .

`` Where you have lots of family members traveling together , you may have to rely on DNA matches to more distant relatives , '' she explains . `` Once you get beyond the immediate family , beyond grandparents or aunts and uncles , it becomes more difficult . ''

In those cases , scientists may have to rely on alternative comparisons , matching DNA from the remains to that found on toothbrushes or clothing owned by the dead person .

Van Roo says work has already begun to collect details and DNA matches for those on board the plane , with dozens of detectives interviewing family members .

`` We have been working with the families of the victims . From them , we ask -LSB- for -RSB- a description of the victim , and we take DNA , look at the dental records and take fingerprints , '' he told CNN , adding that the process of talking to relatives can take a long time .

`` You try to get as much information during your first visit . You do n't want to forget some questions . It is very painful to have to get back to families to ask -LSB- more -RSB- questions . ''

`` Every bit of information you get from a relative needs to be collected very carefully . Also you need to take records from the bodies . It is a delicate procedure for example , -LSB- to -RSB- take dental records or DNA . ''

Syndercombe-Court helped to identify the victims of Yemenia Flight 626 , which crashed into the Indian Ocean on its way from Yemen to Comoros in 2009 , leaving 152 dead .

She says not every victim will be easy to put a name to : Cases where the force of a blast or fire have damaged the remains can be complex .

And she says that while experts do have the passenger manifest , some cases may never be fully resolved .

But she hopes knowing , at least , that everything possible has been done , and that the remains were handled with great care will offer some solace .

`` The longer it goes on , the more difficult it can be . ... If someone is not found , or a body part is never identified , but it is dealt with in a sensitive way , the families know someone has gone to the effort , someone has tried their best . ''

For the experts at Hilversum , the next weeks and months will be busy and difficult . Van Roo says the work can be emotional , but everyone is united by their common aim .

`` We have the drive to give the bodies back to the families , '' he says . `` Every case is unique , -LSB- but -RSB- you want to get the victim back . The drive stays the same . ''

Syndercombe-Court agrees : `` It 's a tough job , but a good job .

`` It is always grim , but we do it with the knowledge that we are helping someone else : The family want to be able to put it to bed , and we want to give them some peace . ''

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CNN 's Erin McLaughlin and Antonia Mortensen contributed to this report .

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The remains of victims of Flight MH17 have been flown back to the Netherlands

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Dozens of bodies collected from the crash site have been taken to Kharkiv in the Ukraine

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Dutch experts will use DNA , dental records and fingerprints to identify the victims

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The identification process can be lengthy but is aimed at giving families closure